You tell me.
President Obama on Wednesday will formally announce the most aggressive and expansive national gun-control agenda in generations as he presses Congress to mandate background checks for all firearm buyers and prohibit assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips.
Gun control? Electoral suicide, right? What kind of"pragmatic," "centrist," DLC-leaning inspirer of "Obamabots," "moderate Republican," "Republican-lite" Democrat would touch that issue with a ten-foot pole?
The Washington Post has an opinion:
The announcement will set off a fierce confrontation with Congress over an issue that has riven American society for decades. Obama’s far-reaching firearms agenda has at best tepid support from his party leaders and puts him at loggerheads with Democratic centrists.
"Democratic centrists" ought to be the least of the President's worries. Never mind the fact that he's facing the most hostile and virulent Republican House in living memory. One which is threatening to tank the U.S. and world economy out of sheer racist spite, while waving their guns in execration at its bloated corpse.
Yes, this is a fine time to bring up gun control.
Days before his second inauguration, Obama is seeking to drive the guns debate in a way that contrasts with the accommodating approach he often took during his first term. In the weeks ahead, he will attempt to rally popular support to bend the will of lawmakers to vote for what he considers the ideal, not merely the possible.
The "ideal?" What the Hell is that? Who does this guy think he is? I can't remember the last time I heard the word "ideal" in connection with a politician. No, instead it's usually "ideology."
There's a significant difference.
In the last few weeks there's been a tremendous discussion going on here and everywhere across the country about guns and gun control, about what the President or Congress can or cannot do, or has or has not done. But at some point we have to acknowledge what is without a doubt a profound course change in public policy, one which has been crying out for leadership for nearly half a century. The Post article appears to put that in perspective.
I guess I shouldn't be that surprised. He's just doing what real good Presidents tend to do. It's been so long since we've had one, it's got to feel unusual for a lot of folks. That's OK. It felt unusual to these guys too at the time.
Obama decided to push an expansive agenda that in many ways represents his liberal base’s wish list rather than proposals that may be more politically viable to a divided Congress.
Obama’s proposals amount to the most comprehensive federal regulations of the firearms industry since 1968, when President Lyndon B. Johnson acted in the aftermath of high-profile assassinations.
“My starting point is not to worry about the politics,” Obama said. “My starting point is to focus on what makes sense, what works, what should we be doing to make sure that our children are safe and that we’re reducing the incidents of gun violence.
In case anyone was wondering, the "high-profile assassinations" that drove President Johnson's actions were those of Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy. That was the equivalent of a Sandy Hook, back in the day.
And I won't even touch "the liberal base's wish list." No point. Best just let that one sit (But there it is).
Yep, nothing to see here, nothing at all... Move along, move along.